ed
bore marks of constant resort. The Adhaim was crossed by
Nebuchadnezzar's great Nahrwan Canal. This was now, in effect, a deep
nulla, and had silted in, so that its bottom was above the Adhaim bank.
Its cliffs were tenanted with blue rock-pigeon, with hedgehogs and
porcupines. Shoals of mackerel-like fish used to swim up the Tigris,
with fins skimming the surface. Erskine showed me how to shoot these;
as, in later days, when we were in the Palestine line at Arsuf, I have
seen Diggins stunning fish with rifle-shots in the old Roman harbour.

In their Samarra digging the Guides had found a stone statue, which is
what they asked me up to see. The head and arms had been broken off,
obviously deliberately; but it was plainly the Goddess Ishtar, with
breasts remaining. She was sitting before the mess-tent, like Demeter
before the House of Triptolemus. This discovery was of interest beyond
itself. The books place Opis near Akab, apparently because the Adhaim
enters the Tigris opposite Akab. But, as I have said already, Kenneth
Mason has accumulated good reasons for placing Opis near Samarra. With
those reasons, this statue of Ishtar may take its place. The Samarra of
history was not much more than a standing camp for caliphs in refuge
from their true capital, Baghdad. But old Samarra covers nearly twenty
square miles of ruins upon ruins. Opis was a great mart; and Samarra,
in the relics of Eski Baghdad, to the north, reaches almost to the
Tigris end of the Tekrit-Hit caravan road.

The Kifri push resulted in another withdrawal of the fight-weary John.
He set Kifri coal-mine on fire, and it burned for some days. We took a
hundred and fifty prisoners and two field-guns. Though Russia was out
of the war, a local force of Russians helped us. They were told they
would find their rations in a certain place when they took it. They
took it all right.

I left the Guides, and went back to Beled, to my good friends of the
56th Brigade, R.F.A. On December 6 the 19th Infantry and the 56th
Artillery Brigades received orders to move down-stream immediately. All
came suddenly; I was awakened by the striking of tents. On the 8th the
Leicestershires left Samarra. In less than six days they were in
Baghdad. In those six days of marching they suffered terribly from
cold, rain, and footsoreness. But they swung through Baghdad singing.
The men of the Anzac wireless bought up oranges, and threw them to our
fellows as they passed out of Baghdad